Goodnight Seattle

4:18 PM
Priyanka
5 Comments

The series finale
that marked the end of the 11 year long fun ride that was this show - Frasier.

I've always had this
habit of associating television shows,
movies, songs, books with a certain way they make me feel - and when I think of Frasier, I think of the
warm cozy apartment of Elliott Bay Towers and a strange calmness takes over me.
I feel more at ease. That's why Frasier has become my go-to show for when I
am restless or anxious in life.

It was for the same
reason I started re-watching the series last month and it worked - like
grandma's home remedy. I was feeling less rushed and my thoughts were more
structured. I devoured through the episodes till I got to the finale, which is
when I noticed something for the first time.

In his farewell
speech, Frasier talks of new beginnings, of taking risks...referring to his
decision to move to a new city, and I couldn't help but feel the same
restlessness seeping in, only this time it wasn't for myself, but for the
character that I had grown to adore. I felt sad for him, scared of what might
become of him, of how he might never actually experience the marital bliss that
his younger brother was finally blessed with, or have the good fortune of
spending his golden years amongst family and loved ones like his father.

I realized that I
could never take such a leap unless life forced me to. I could never throw away
the known, the familiar, the safe...for what countless possibilities were out
there. Sure I would wonder, but I would
never have the courage to act.

Think of these two
choices. You are well into your 60s and one quiet evening, seated on your
favorite piece of furniture, sipping a hot cup of tea, you are reminiscing
about the years that have gone by, all the summers, all the memories, all the
people you met and you are smiling. Now would you like for those memories,
happy as they are, to be like a few big blocks of events, monotonous at times
but secured to a strong base, or would you like to see them as a million tiny
blocks, all very eventful and thrilling but adrift in space and time ?

I'd rather pick the
former and by that I mean, having the majority of one's memories about ONE
place, or ONE person, having a glue to which your whole life is secured,
instead of having a billion memories, each of a different person, or a different
place.

This marks a big
difference between the two brothers on this show as well - while Frasier had a
new love interest every other episode (although always pursued with the utmost
sincerity), Niles always moved from one long term relation to another, often fixating
on making each of them last. What is to be noted is that they each end up with
exactly what they had been working towards - Niles with a wife and a new born and Frasier with a brand new career in a brand new city - both happy with
their share.

They stand for the
same daunting choice every person has to make at some point in life - build
upon existing memories or make new ones?